Gaza reports some 230 Palestinians dead, 1,600 wounded after Hamas assault on Israel
Civilians in Gaza and West Bank rush to buy supplies, bracing for lengthy conflict
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The Hamas-controlled Gaza health ministry said Saturday afternoon that some 200 Palestinians had been killed and over 1,600 wounded since the terror group launched its coordinated massive attack on southern Israeli communities in the morning.
Most of those were apparently killed in the Gaza Strip as a result of Israel’s retaliatory strikes.
At the same time, Israeli officials were quoted in Hebrew media reports saying some 200 Hamas gunmen had been killed in the fighting inside Israel, as of Saturday evening.
The Hamas infiltration assault saw dozens of terrorists gun down soldiers and civilians. Images and videos of clouds of black smoke billowing from buildings hit in airstrikes throughout the Gaza Strip were widely shared on social media.
Over 250 Israelis were killed in the unprecedented Hamas infiltration and in rocket strikes, and over 1,500 wounded, according to medical officials. The number is seen as certain to rise further.
A Palestinian man was also killed by the IDF in the West Bank, near the village al-Lubban al-Gharbi, west of Ramallah, as he was about to carry out a stabbing attack, Ramallah officials said.
Palestinian civilians in the coastal enclave rushed to buy supplies in anticipation of days of conflict, according to Al Jazeera. Similar scenes were reportedly seen in Ramallah, with some citizens fearing an Israeli incursion, even though the Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Economy reassured citizens that there were sufficient supplies of food and fuel for months.
A civilian witnesses from his window Israeli airstrikes on four buildings in Gaza city pic.twitter.com/HLeCQBlRNC
— Gianluca Pacchiani (@GLucaPacchiani) October 7, 2023
Throughout Saturday, the IDF said it struck multiple terrorist squads in southern Israel, as well as several sites belonging to Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The sites targeted by Israeli Air Force fighter jets and drones included 17 military compounds, four headquarters, and two high-rise towers the IDF said were used to house Hamas assets.
The military said it notified residents of the two buildings before they were hit.
IAF fighter jets dropped more than 16 tons of munitions on Hamas assets in the Strip, according to a military source.
The Times of Israel Community.